Learning To Drive Later In Life
If you have left it late to begin your driving lessons, you might think that you can no longer learn to drive as you could when you were young. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but the truth is that the human mind never stops learning. We grow and adapt to every situation put in front of us.
It is a common assumption that as soon as you reach the age you are allowed to legally drive, you need to book 20 driving lessons and get a car as soon as possible. Sometimes life can get in the way and it just isn’t possible for us to learn this essential skill in our late teens or even early twenties. You might not have the time or the money to fork out on all the lessons, a car and the insurance you need. But it’s ok, just because you reach a certain age without learning to drive doesn’t mean you are no longer capable.
When you start out as an older driver you may feel as if you’ve been put up to the most impossible task. However one of the main advantages of growing older is that we often feel much more confident in ourselves and our abilities. Because of this the nerves we may have felt at a younger age are likely to melt away. Due to being a passenger for a long time you will also probably have a basic understanding of the way the road works which will help you greartly as you start out driving.
How Many Lessons Do You Need?
This varies from person to person just as it will when you are younger. It can depend on how confident you are, what you already know about cars and the way the road works, your reaction times and your sight. It will also depend on the are which you learn to drive- as some places will have much more difficult roads than others. There are also other factors such as whether you are learning in an automatic or manual car. On average though, older people do need more time to learn to drive than younger ones. It will usually be around 40-50 hours in total, but of course you can cut this time down if you learn much quicker.
Remember that it is never too late to learn how to drive if you need to be able to move around and be independent. Although the older you become the more difficult it will be to learn, you can still take lessons and learn how to drive as long as you really pay attention to the lessons and do plenty of study for the theory side of things in your spare time. As with any skill, it takes time to learn and time to adapt to the situation. At first you may find the idea of putting your foot on the clutch and accelerator at the same time alien, but after a few times your body will become used to the sensation and eventually you will complete the tasks without even thinking about it.
Tips:
Driving instructor – Always shops around, just like you would with any other item you were going to pay for. Driving instructors can vary massively in your area so make sure you find the one which has the best pass rate out of the bunch, but also doesn’t completely rip you off. You need someone who you can trust, are able to have a conversation with and who will be patient with you as you learn how to drive.
Regular lessons – always make sure that if you are going to start learning to drive, you can keep up with regular lessons. Ideally you will want to be doing 2 hours per week without fail at least to allow you to retain the information you have been given throughout your lessons.
Experience – just like anything, the longer you spend practicing and gaining experience the better. If you can afford to fork out the extra cash for more lessons, do it. You will gain much more of a relaxed attitude toward driving the longer you do it.
The fact is that it doesn’t matter what age you are when you come to learn how to drive. You could be just as nervous at the age of 17 as you are at the age of 40. It is down to you to dedicate all the time you possibly can to your driving lessons and make sure that you pay attention to detail and do your homework. You will be on the road in your own car in no time!